The Free Will Of Macbeth
...le to conquer the quest of becoming king. It seems like Macbeth is someone who always gets what he wants, this greed that he has causes a problem. He wants to become king, but others stand in his way, such as Banquo, Fleance, and Macduff. He says to Banquo, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir” (I. iv. 157). He knows that he has done nothing to become Thane of Glamis, so he does not have to do anything to become king. At this point, it seems that Macbeth feels it is destiny for him to be king but it soon changes to his free will. Like stated before, Macbeth thought he had done nothing to become Thane of Glamis but, he had. Macbeth had chopped the king of Norway’s head off during battle. This shows that in order for Macbeth to have gained Thane of Glamis he must kill. When he realizes this, he comes to find out that he will have to get rid of those in his way by killing them to become king. This is when he switches from destiny to free will. The prophecies then become a mind game to him and he struggles with his conscious between doing right and wrong. He then strides to make what the witches prophesized true. Lady Macbeth first takes control over her husband in Act I, Scene v. She tells Macbeth that they will kill Duncan during his sleep. She says to Macbeth, “O, never/shall sun that morrow see! … He that’s coming/must be provided for: and you shall put/This night’s great business into my dispatch…” (I.v.71-80). Macbeth agrees with his wife when he answers back to her. This shows that he will proceed with the killing because he wants to become king and will do anything he can to make the prophecies true. Macbeth has a strong intuition to kill, and nothing will stop him. It is as if he is under a spell from the witches to make their predictions come true. He knows that killing is wrong but he wants to be king. During one of Macbeth’s famous soliloquies, Macbeth states, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’ other” (I.vii.25). Macbeth knows that killing is wrong but his wanting to be king is so strong that he will do anything to become king. Here he is under total control by the witches; we know this because he will not give up his quest to become king. Another instance of how Macbeth is controlled is that he will go through with the plan and kill Duncan. He says, “I go, and it is done.”(II. i. 75) He cannot stop himself from wanting to be king. His greed is so strong that he chooses to do wrong and kills Duncan. Here Macbeth is struggling with himself to choose between right and wrong, his evil thoughts overpower his goodness and he chooses to kill. Macbeth goes on to realize that killing Duncan will not get him to be king and that he, Macbeth, still has others in his way. Banquo is the next person Macbeth plans to kill. He chooses to do this on his own, no one tells him to do so. Macbeth hires three murderers to kill Banquo so he can become king. Macbeth says to the murderers, “Whose execution takes your enemy off, / Grapples you to the heart and love of us, / Who wear our health but sickly in his life, / Which in his death were perfect.”(III. i. 117-120) Macbeth is sure that he is going to be king and to be that he feels that he must kill Banquo. He hires two murderers to kill him because their friendship was too close. It is stated here that Macbeth loves Banquo but, he is alive and on his way to becoming king so he must be killed. The witches here control Macbeth because he cannot stop himself from killing. He wants to make the prophecies true and feels that to become king he has to kill. Ma...